Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

gavin6942 In post-war Cape Breton (Canada), a doctor's efforts to tutor a deaf/mute woman (Jane Wyman) are undermined when she is assaulted, and the resulting pregnancy causes scandal to swirl.As others have noted, an actor or actress may have just one role that really defines them and shows their best. This film offers us the chance to see that with Jane Wyman, who gives us a very strong performance. Being deaf / mute may not sound hard, but she gets the look down, and makes the sign language look convincing (at least to a layman).This is short of a dark story for the 1940s, and I give everyone involved a lot of credit for making it. Also, thank you to the Academy for honoring it. This is truly a great film, from the script to the acting and beyond.

DKosty123 This film has great black & white cinematography which reminds the viewer why black & white can look as great as color. The cast is superb with kudos to Wyman & the doctor. So why is it a near miss as a classic? The script seems a bit contrived. Rather than challenging the viewer by keeping the rapist a mystery, it pretty much tips the hand who the rapist is going to be well before the rape. Even though the film does not have the rape happen at the beginning of the film which departs from the often formula for this plot, it takes a ponderously slow time building up to it.The towns folks are gossiping about the baby & the person they think is the father. But there is little depth to the towns people. They appear to be crass for no good reason. The ending is too feel good Hollywood with a character suddenly developing a conscience at the trial to reveal the truth about who the father of the child is.While he film has outstanding elements, it does not measure up to the rest of it's parts with this script.

Jem Odewahn I found this to be a very interesting film for the 40's for it's strong subject matter, and the performances. Jane Wyman won the Best Actress Oscar here, and she's superb (though I still would have given the nod to De Havilland for "The Snake Pit", but that's strictly my opinion). Lew Ayres underplays beautifully. I would love to see some appreciation for this actor, I thought his performances in this, "The Dark Mirror" and "All Quiet On The Western Front" were all natural, subtle yet exemplary. Bickford and Moorehead are quite wonderful, and not forgetting Jan Sterling and Stephen McNally...did this typecast him forever as villain? I'm sure it did...I also thought it was beautifully told. There are many moments it could have slipped into pure melodrama, but there is a level of restraint to Jean Negulesco's work. I also found it to be deeply honest, and I loved the relationship between Belinda and the doctor. Instead of just inviting sympathy for her plight, we are also intrigued by his loneliness and how he needs her to help him, too. Their scenes together, particularly near the end, are very touching.

kenjha Wyman has the role of her career as a naive, deaf-mute young woman in a small Canadian town in the 19th century who is raped by a local hoodlum. She won an Oscar for her word-less performance, beating out Olivia De Havilland for "The Snake Pit." There are also fine performances from Ayers as a kindly doctor who takes interest in Wyman, Bickford as her tough father, and Moorehead as her aunt. The location cinematography is beautiful and it is sensitively directed by Negulesco. Other than a somewhat melodramatic courtroom scene, it is quite understated and surprisingly mature in handling a controversial subject, given the era in which it was made.